Nyiko didn't dream often, and neither were those dreams ever clear. Nyiko dreamt clearly today, he dreamt of a city. Its size was large, not as large as the WQSC but for a medieval looking city it was formidable. That same city was aflame in chaos. Smoke rose from debris of stone and wood like black immovable monoliths that circled the sky above. From where he could perceive there were no raging fires to cause the seemingly endless smoke, instead it was raining soot. At least it seemed like that at first but whatever was falling from the black blanketed sky was too much like liquid, yet he couldn't come to terms with it simply being rain.
As he watched the black rain fall, he soon felt horror overwhelm him. A single of soot-like raindrops shifted, then grew, then transformed into something.
He could not explain how he saw this, but he did, he saw as more and more of the rain transformed into these creatures. They were like reptilian crows, their feathery, inky form diving into the ruins with their serrated beaks patterned like those of an alligator. Some instead flew closer to the heart of the city.
His vision shifted to follow the flying furies. Piercing through the dark veil of countless diving fiends, he saw the demonic crows circle a hill. The way the crows circled it was not anything he learned about how birds circled things, their flight looked irregular, bobbing up and down in flight. There was a rhythm to it, each crow followed like a dance. It looked like a bobbing, floating crown laid on the peak of the hill's shadowy figure.
Then the hill moved.
And Time flowed backwards.
Soon the towers of smoke sunk back into the city, the abominable rain was absorbed back into the smokey clouds, the sky cleared up, homes and buildings rebuilt themselves and the dark giant had dissipated into the aether, a great keep now stood where it had been. The sun began to do the reverse of its usual journey, sinking in the east and letting night fall. Then the sun rose in the east, then it did it again, and again and again. It had happened more than a dozen times, a few dozen? No it was more than that, it was now speeding past his sight so fast he could not count how many times this cycle had happened. Then, time resumed.
...
Exhaustion, sore bare feet and the sight of someone's hemp-clad back is what Nyiko's eyes opened to. He then felt the slight burn of the iron shackles that chained his hands and feet. He had come to already marching, back bent and head down, seeming to try to make himself as small as possible.
'What the hell was that?'
After seeing that premonition, Nyiko was surprisingly calm, well at least deluded himself into calmness so he wouldn't draw any attention.
'Is that city where I'm heading? Actually, what am I doing here anyway? Am I a prisoner?!' He shook his head; he was already forgetting the advice that sergeant gave.
'Right, first thing first. Let's summon the rune, however I do that. Does it just appear when I think about it?'
And as if answering his question, the runes appeared in front of him. Each rune looked evanescent, shimmering into existence yet also looking not feeling like they were actually there. He began to read them, not understanding the ancient language but somehow interpreting its meaning:
***
Name: Tinyiko
True name: -
Rank: Aspirant
Soul core: Dormant
Memories: -
Echoes:-
Attributes: [Destined], [Student scholar], [Sentimental]
Aspect: [Scholar slave]
Aspect Description: [A once a promising scholar, now just a simple slave. At least a scholar slave will fetch a fair price as a rich family's tutor]
'Huh? Is that how.... I'm screwed, aren't I?'
Nyiko marched on in his stunned stupor, letting his body continue to guide him till his seemingly inevitable end as his mind tried to better grasp what was happening. As his mind was reeling he felt the chains between his feet grow taught, almost making him fall. He hurriedly turned his head to look at the slave behind him, questioning what caused the commotion.
Looking behind him he saw a young boy on his knees; he did not look well. He was covered in sweat, shivering as if he was out in the arctic instead of the warm climate the caravan was in. Looking closer the boy was gaunt, even malnourished and his skin was mottled with strange welts. Nyiko grimaced at the sight, the boy was no man than 12 yet it was clear he had caught a horrible disease. Worse yet, he had most likely caught it on the journey and was forced to march on anyways, not giving his body any time to recuperate.
The boy was bent over dry heaving, as if trying to throw something up that didn't really exist, a soldier on his stallion rode in to see the commotion. Much closer to him, Nyiko saw the soldier's face pale and he quickly called out to his superior.
"C-C-Captain! Captain, Plague! We have a plagued slave here"
Nyiko didn't understand the tongue the soldier spoke but somehow understood what the he had said.
The Captain rode in soon as he was called, his regal white stallion drawing the eyes of the slaves. From what Nyiko could see from his position through the Captain's helm, he looked to be quite the stern man. His face bore strong, austere features with slight wrinkles. His cold, iron gaze laid upon the sickly boy. Not one emotion had shown on his face when he arrived, neither did it appear as he made his command:
"Cut him down, He just has marsh sickness."
And as soon as he made the order a random soldier drew his sword. Nyiko quickly turned away as the soldier made his way to the boy, then he heard the sound of blade falling down and the end to the boy's heaving. The sound unsettled him, but seemingly not the boy's slayer. Nyiko heard the soldier unshackle the fresh corpse, padded footsteps, then a soft thud.
Then the caravan was on its way. There was an empty space behind Nyiko and though he didn't even talk to the sick boy behind him, his absence was all the more noticeable now. But, everything continued on. Slaves stumbled forward, guards marched along with them, both uncaring of this tragedy.